The football World Cup kicks off on 11 June - the first in history played across three countries at once: the US, Mexico and Canada, with 48 national teams and 104 matches up to the final on 19 July. And while everyone looks toward New York and Mexico City, the Spanish national team picked a base most fans first have to look up on a map: Chattanooga, Tennessee.

The choice is no accident. The city lies in the southeast of the US, about two hours from Atlanta and Nashville, with good flight links to the major hubs. With around 180,000 residents in the urban core and close to 600,000 in the metro area, Chattanooga is small enough for peace and large enough for infrastructure - exactly what a team planning a long stay wants.

The nickname „Scenic City" is no marketing invention. The city is nestled among mountains, in a bend of the Tennessee River, and went from an industrial-railway past to one of the greenest cities in the country. The legendary Chattanooga Choo Choo complex - yes, the train station from the song - is today a hotel and entertainment district.

The river is the main stage: waterfronts, parks and walking paths along its whole course, and the Walnut Street Bridge ranks among the longest pedestrian bridges in the world. There's also the Tennessee Aquarium, considered one of the best in America, and the Bluff View arts district with galleries and cafés.

A few minutes from the city hides natural wealth too: Lookout Mountain with the Rock City rock garden, the 44-meter Ruby Falls underground waterfall and the historic Incline Railway with a gradient of over 70 percent - a climb worth a ticket even without football.

The Spaniards will stay at the Embassy Suites downtown, with a rooftop restaurant, a gym and an indoor pool. The only opponent that can't be avoided: June-July temperatures of 25 to 35 degrees with Southern humidity. If Spain reaches the final, part of the credit will go to this quiet city among the mountains too - and until then, Chattanooga is a travel idea that rarely occurs to anyone on its own.